Senior Engineer - Compliance Technology

CTC Lateral - Website & LinkedIn; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous time off

Insurance coverage

Paid parental leave

Free breakfast and lunch

Job summary

Chicago Trading Company (CTC) is seeking a proactive Compliance Software Engineer to design, build, and maintain real-time, high-throughput systems that monitor orders and quotes across venues, automate regulatory reporting, and support trading operations.

You will collaborate with Trading, Tech and Operations, lead cross-disciplinary projects, and mentor teammates while ensuring production stability in a fast-paced, regulated environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience with real-time, latency sensitive trading or financial systems.
• Experience designing scalable systems and high-performance data pipelines.
• Strong understanding of market-making, trading operations, and risk management.
• Ability to balance multiple priorities in a regulated, fast-paced environment.
• Experience mentoring through code reviews and design evaluations.
• Nice-to-have: experience with compliance/surveillance platforms or cloud-native/big-data tech.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and improve real-time, high-throughput systems monitoring orders and quotes across venues.
• Automate end-to-end compliance: detect prohibited trading, generate regulatory reports, and adapt controls.
• Fix production issues quickly to ensure uninterrupted market operations.
• Document architectures and processes to support audits and regulatory reviews.
• Lead projects across Trading, Tech and Operations.

Skills

Real-time trading knowledge

Latency-sensitive systems

Market-making understanding

Java

Python

Tools

Java

Python

Job description

Chicago Trading Company (CTC) is a premier proprietary trading firm specializing in options market making. Our collaborative culture fuels innovation in quantitative research, systematic trading strategies, and cutting-edge trading technology. For over three decades CTC has provided critical liquidity across derivatives exchanges worldwide - making them fairer, more transparent, and more efficient.

We strive to be the most innovative firm in the industry today, tomorrow, and long into the future while upholding ethical excellence. We believe that CTC makes a positive impact on the markets, the lives of our employees, and all the communities to which we belong. Started in 1995 by a team of forward-thinking Traders, we are proud to call ourselves an industry leader that keeps making markets and each other better.

We are seeking a proactive and detail-oriented Compliance Software Engineer to join our dynamic team. You will be responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining innovative solutions that support our market participation and ensure effective management of trading operational risk. Your work will be integral in real-time monitoring of sales and pricing requests, compliance with trading venue regulations, and the generation of regulatory reports across multiple jurisdictions.

What you'll do

• Design, build, and continuously improve real-time, high-throughput systems that monitor orders and quotes across venues, process large data sets, and carry out market-making obligations.
• Automate end-to-end compliance: detect prohibited trading behaviors, generate/submit regulatory reports (SEC, FSA, FINRA, etc.), and adapt controls to evolving rules and guidelines.
• Quickly fix production issues to ensure uninterrupted market operations.
• Document architectures, processes, and changes to support audits and regulatory reviews.
• Lead projects across multi-disciplinary teams in Trading, Tech and Operations.

Must have

• At least 5 years experience with real-time, latency sensitive trading or financial-services systems in Java and Python.
• Experience designing and building scalable systems, high-performance data pipelines and market-monitoring tools.
• Strong grasp of market‑making, trading operations, risk management, and the applicable regulatory landscape.
• Shown analytical and problem‑solving capabilities; comfortable balancing multiple priorities in a highly regulated, fast‑paced environment.
• E xperience providing mentorship and feedback through code review and evaluating design decisions.

Nice to have

• Experience with compliance/surveillance platforms or financial‑regulation frameworks.
• Knowledge of operational‑risk management tools.
• Familiarity with cloud‑native architectures and big‑data technologies.

Most teams at CTC, with the exception of Trading, follow a hybrid workplace model, subject to change based on business need.

Our Benefits

We strongly believe in the well‑being of our employees and their families so we offer outstanding benefits to support you both professionally and personally. These benefits include generous time off, insurance coverage, paid parental leave, free breakfast and lunch (plus healthy snacks, of course), wellness reimbursement, and a variety of other benefits focused on providing the best employee experience.

(Disclaimer: interns and contractors are not eligible for benefits at CTC)

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

At CTC, we aim to cultivate a workplace that celebrates diversity and each person feels included, engaged and empowered. Where each of us feels we belong. We are committed to having a diverse workforce and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. CTC does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.

If you have a disability and believe you need a reasonable accommodation in order to search for a job opening or to apply for a position, please contact us at [e-mail]. Note that emails sent to this email account for non‑disability related issues, such as following up on an application, will not receive a response.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Information submitted by job applicants may be subject to review and analysis by automated systems, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), as part of the recruitment process. Such systems are utilized to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our hiring procedures. Applicants are advised that any information provided may be evaluated by AI tools to ensure an equitable and thorough assessment.